Types of Electronic Commerce and associated Business Models - Essay Example

Questions on E-Commerce Types of E-Commerce and associated Business Models Screen shot thumb link Type (B2B, B2C, C2C) Business model and revenue types http://www.sukar.com/sa-en/ B2B E-procurement, Exchanges, E-distributor, Industry Consortia https://en-sa.namshi.com/ B2C Portal, transaction broker e-tailer, content provider, market creator, http://www.cobone.com/en/deals/dubai C2C Consumer-to-consumer, peer-to-peer, M-commerce Business-to-consumer (B2C) e-commerce It is the common type of the E-commerce. The business organizations make online attempts to make sales to the final consumers. The B2C e-commerce has undergone massive developments arising from technological advancements. Huge malls and stores provide a variety of product in the online market that includes computers, food, shoes, and other products (Manzoor, 2010). B2C enables the consumer to make informed purchase. The businesses also sell the products at a lower price than the prescribed retail price. The B2C has the longest list of business models as discussed below. i. Portal The portals provide the buyer with tools that enhance the search of content on the web. In addition, the model allows the consumer to access a variety of goods and services like news, email services, music downloads and many more. ii. E-tailer The model is classified into three. First, the virtual merchant is a retail store that provides the customer an opportunity to shop online at any time. Second, Click and Bricks represent an online alternative channel for distributing goods of a physically existing company (Manzoor, 2010). Catalog merchant represents an online form of a catalog conveyed directly through the mail. iii. Content Provider Represent a business model that provides news and entertainment to customers. They include sports sites, newspapers, and all the other sites that provide information to customers. The revenue models used include Affiliate, subscription, and advertising. iv. Transaction Broker They are models that enhance the processing of client transactions online. The company charges the customer a transaction fees once the service for the service provided. v. Market creator He is an intermediary who creates an online platform where buyers and sellers transact business. The market maker obtains revenue by charging the seller a transaction fee. vi. Service Provider The companies make their money by providing online services to customers at a cost. vii. Community Provider They are sites that allow people with similar experiences to share them through evaluation of notes. Business-To-Business (B2B) E-Commerce In Business-to-Business E-commerce, the businessmen make significant sales to their fellow businesspersons. The type is larger than Business-to-Consumer (B2C) E-commerce when measured in monetary terms (Manzoor, 2010). The companies buy a bigger volume of goods compared to individuals. They have enormous monetary resources and the products are mainly meant for resale. The Business-to-Business models are categorized into net marketplaces and private industrial networks. Net market places i. E-distributor The model represents online stores that supply direct and operation goods to the consumers and the seller gains income from the sales made. ii. E-procurement Represent a situation where a firm develops an online digital market where buyers and sellers trade with indirect inputs. The intermediary charges a fee for creating a forum where the buyer and the seller meet. iii. Exchanges They are digital markets independently owned by firms and they deal with direct inputs. The company obtains a commission and a fee from the transaction. iv. Industry Consortia They are markets for specialized services only open to specific suppliers. Private Industrial Network’s i. Single-film networks They are networks owned by a specific company that is only linked to specific customers. ii. Industry-wide networks They are networks operating in a certain industry to controls the aspects of supply in the industry. Consumer-To-Consumer (C2C) E- Commerce An e-commerce allows consumers to trade with one another directly. An intermediary facilitates the online transactions by creating a platform where the consumer can make trade exchanges. The consumer relies on the services of the intermediary to make the sale (Manzoor, 2010). The consumer has the responsibility to make the product ready for sale. The intermediary facilitate the sale of the product by providing a search engine, display, and the method that the product would be paid. The Consumer-to-Consumer business models i. Consumer-to-Consumer The business model is an event where the market creates a forum for the consumer to transact business. He charges a transaction fee obtained from the consumer making the sale. ii. Peer-to-Peer The model provides consumers with an opportunity to share the files they have without the use of common servers. The revenue model includes the transaction, subscription, and advertising fee. iii. M-commerce It is a business model that facilitates carrying out transactions using wireless technological advances. The transactions carried out include stock trading and banking. 2. Favorite Saudi B2C application Ecommerce business: fashion shopping for kids, Women, and men URL: https://ar-sa.namshi.com/ Attractive Features The website has very attractive photos of the product that lure the customer to make a purchase. Second, it provides very smart models of their products in use. At the time of access, the website displayed a woman and a man with the clothes sold by the company. The company also approves to the customer that the products sold are genuine. Compared to Amazon, namshi stocks very few products on a similar web page (Manzoor, 2010). In addition, the company fails to provide the customer with a price tag to help her make an informed decision. 3. The bigboxx company provides a general sale of products to the consumers. The company sells computer supplies, household items, stationery, and a wide range of products. The bigboxx operates Business-to-Consumer type of e-commerce business model. The bigboxx adopted the E-tailer, revenue model. 4. The customer can request the products that fit his needs very first. The company can meet the actual needs of the customer easily. The merchant can collect adequate information regarding the consumer that can be used to satisfy the needs of the consumer in future. A similar idea would be suggested in KSA and specifically for dresses. Women will customize the dress color, length and the material used in addition to other features. 5. The pricegrabber adopted the E-tailer business model. The transaction fee is the revenue model expected. Yes, a similar model would be very appropriate in KSA. It would create a competitive environment for businesses. However, some companies will be reluctant to compare their products directly with other company’s products. 6. Mfg.com represents the portal where the customer is provided with a search engine. The model provides a quick response compared to a manual request for quotation 7. I requested the home improvements services. The various offers on the services were presented with different prices for all the costs. A similar service is vital for the Kingdom of Saudi Arabia. It would promote effectiveness and appropriate use of time. 8. 9. The keyword in the web search represented is diving watches. The SEO (organic) results begin from the article with Panera and to the article on dive watches below the screenshot. The advertisements are sponsored links placed near or at the top of the search page results. In this case, the advertisements are shown on the right-hand side of the page. They begin from (Montblanc watches) down to (Roger Dubuis watches). For every site to be visited there is a title for that website results. Some titles include, ‘top ten diver watches/sports diver’ and ‘Dive Watches-Citizen, Seiko, Casio, Timex,/eBay’. 10. Marketers would prefer to be ranked first in the organic ranking in the Google. There is a probability that the business ranked in the first six positions will make higher sales. Many individuals spend much of their time looking at the information on the rank. 11. The service to make advertisements is provided by google. I made an advertisement on google related to the Saudi perfume. Every time a customer input a search of perfume on the search engine the Saudi perfume will be displayed. 12. It is an alternative way to make money for the e-commerce. It is an attractive service provided by google for the website owners. I can make extra income by opening an account with AdSense. Ads (advertisement) will be placed on the e-commerce website with an exchange of extra income from google. 13. Google analytical dashboards are vital for ecommerce by enhancing sales, conversations and act as a meeting strategy. First, the high visits indicate that the marketing strategies are working well. Second, the page views show that the website is attracting a bigger traffic who can be potential buyers. Third, the average time on the site indicate the time spent on customer. It is an indication that customers are attracted by the content of the website. Lastly, a high bounce rate shows that the site is not impressive to customers. 14. An SEO should undertake a benchmarking exercise. Benchmarking SEO performance facilitate the comparison of the SEO performance overtime. It is also helpful to share the benchmarking data in the anonymous form. When benchmarking data is shared the google will seek any information relevant to the industry and provide a report on the trends in the industry. The sharing will facilitate the website performance comparisons with other websites in the same industry. It will also provide a hint on the metrics of the site can be improved. 15. Social media marketing process First, the trader has to determine why he needs to use the social media. It may be making awareness on the product so that to make more sales. Second, determine the action preferred by the users of the social media users. The social media user may be required to do various actions on the website for instance liking or sharing. Third, make a decision on the information about the e-commerce that may be shared through the social media. Also, determine the kind of tone that will be applied whether professional or friendly. Lastly, share the message and consider the frequency. 16. Purchasing.com is a site that facilitates the businesses to seek suppliers. The potential buyer provides the suppliers on details of what he needs. The qualified suppliers will competitively bid for the order of the business. The intermediary facilitates effectiveness in the procurement process. The company helps the business in the management of contracts and supplies. Iasta.com is a site for professionals who help manage the procurements of goods. They help in making online sourcing, analyzing expenditure on the supplies, and managing the procurement bit in projects. Their services are meant to promote effectiveness in the procurement. 17. The spyware that might affect the computer include; Trojans, tracking cookies, system monitors and adware. Malicious software is a broad term used to refer to Trojans, ransomware, adware, computer viruses, and other threats. Phishing is an action meant to frequently access and steal the personal data of an individual such as passwords and usernames. The computers are mainly protected using the antivirus. 18. The Hyper Text Transfer Protocol Secure (HTTPS) use Transport Layer Security (TPL) & (Secure Socket Layer) using Public Key Infrastructure tool. Authorized parties code information between the browser and the website to prevent access. 19. The investment in e-commerce is made wisely to keep the business in a strategic position in profit making. Various options are available. The first attractive option was identified in-group purchasing. The group purchasing facilitates buyers to bargain for the best price from the vendors. Initiating an online purchase will help the firm to provide better deals to the purchase groups. The second is where the business provides a forum for different companies to display their products for potential purchase. The company will only charge the transaction cost. Third, provide a variety of goods for consumers to purchase online. 20. Steps required i. Make a choice of the product and the industry to invest. In the same stage, price and profit required should be established. In addition, the probable industry where customer opt to purchase in groups should be identified. ii. Seek manufacturers and producers with high-quality products. The purchaser requires high quality goods and timely delivery. A source of quality goods should be identified. iii. Set the website that will enable customers to make shopping in groups. The business should create a website where favorable for group purchasing. For instance, create a forum for all groups where customers can buy goods under their group description. iv. Establish contact with potential purchase groups. Inform and persuade them to make a visit the website. References Knight, W. (2014, September 27). 7 Must have Google Analytics Dashboards for Ecommerce. Business to Business. Retrieved April 30, 2015 from http://www.business2community.com/online-marketing/7-must-google-analytics-dashboards-ecommerce-01019737 Manzoor, A. (2010). E-commerce-an introduction. Lambert Academic Publishing. Read More